When hospitals and aged-care providers cannot recruit permanent doctors, nurses, midwives, allied health workers and aged-care staff, they are forced into a desperate cycle of locums and agency nurses at enormous cost.

So I say to this government: listen to Vince. Listen to the young Australians asking, 'Why bother?' Scrap this tax, stop punishing effort and restore hope.

“Across regional Australia, the local post office is the lifeblood of the community. This secret plan is a callous attack on people living in regional, rural and remote Australia.”

One of the key points of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan has been recovering water for the environment and environmental works. 450 gigalitres has always been the target and has always been a point of contention.

Commonwealth must stop treating buybacks as the easy answer and instead focus on practical water savings, infrastructure investment and proper transparency over environmental water already held by government.

Innovations like Virtual Care should be expanded — but must support, not replace, local services. Technology cannot substitute for a local doctor, nurse or aged care provider.

TOPICS:

“On Tuesday I met with the Northwest Nine Councils and I have to say, I was impressed. They have put together a comprehensive North-Western Victoria Energy & Mining Impact & Readiness Strategy plan that the Allan Labor Government should have fu

“Growers are concerned many who are struggling financially won’t bother getting certified, reducing the number who are exporting and therefore threatening the local industry if producers flood the local market and drive prices down"